Whitaker Brothers® Terms & Conditions
GENERAL ORDERING INFORMATION
Ordering & Tracking:
Whitaker Brothers® will be pleased to assist you by phone, fax, or e-mail during our normal business hours: Monday – Friday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time zone. All items can be ordered either using our secure online shopping cart, faxing a purchase order to 301-354-3003, contacting your sales representatives at 800-243-9226, or by e-mailing your order to jbrown@whitakerbrothers.com. We recommend that you not e-mail your credit card information. All prices are U.S. dollars and are subject to change. There is a $20.00 minimum order. Orders placed using our secure online shopping cart will receive a confirmation e-mail from Whitaker Brothers® with your order number. This number should be kept in your records should you need to check status of an order. To track an order, please call 800-243-9226 for customer service with your order number ready.
Payments:
All payments are to be made in U.S. currency. We accept checks, cashier checks, money orders, credit cards, wire transfers, and purchase orders pending credit approval. Mail checks to: Whitaker Brothers® TriumphCutter.com, Attn: A/R Dept., 3 Taft Court, Rockville, MD 20852. First time orders paid by check are held until cleared by the bank. To avoid delays in shipping, please make sure that checks are made out for the invoice amount to include shipping charges and tax. There will be a $25.00 fee on all returned checks. Cashier checks, money orders, and checks can take up to 14 business days to clear the bank. We accept the following major credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and IMPAC. Purchase orders will be accepted from approved customers only. To apply for credit, please call our Accounts Receivable Dept. at 800-243-9226. Approved customers are given a 30-day net credit for payment of invoices. Invoices unpaid over 30-days are subject to a 1.5% per month finance charge. International shipments must be paid in advance by wire transfer. For wire transfer procedures, please call or e-mail our accounts receivable department at 800-243-9226 or ardept@whitakerbrothers.com, prior to ordering.
Tax Policy:
Orders with a “Ship To” address within the states of California, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, will have all applicable sales tax added unless a valid tax exemption certificate is produced.
Privacy Policy:
Whitaker Brothers® is firmly committed to your privacy. Any personal information submitted via our website or directly to Whitaker Brothers® will not be released to anyone. Whitaker Brothers® does not sell or rent customer information to any third party. You may submit sensitive data over our website with the assurance that:
- This site has a VeriSign Secure Server ID.
- VeriSign has verified the organizational name and that WHITAKER BROTHERS® BUSINESS MACHINES, INC. has the proof of right to use it.
- This site legitimately runs under the auspices of WHITAKER BROTHERS® BUSINESS MACHINES, INC.
- All information sent to this site, if in an SSL session, is encrypted, protecting against disclosure to third parties.
WARRANTY INFORMATION
Whitaker Brothers® warrantees that all products we sell are free from manufacturing defects. If a product received by a customer is found to be defective upon receipt, Whitaker Brothers® will exchange it at no charge. Warranties are machine specific and may vary depending on the policies of the individual manufacturer and product. Please contact us with any questions regarding specific warranties on products
CANCELLATIONS
Whitaker Brothers® will make every effort to cancel orders when requested. To avoid penalties, orders should be cancelled before items have been assigned a tracking number. We will not, however, be responsible for any costs incurred up to the point of cancellation to include shipping, restocking, and other fees. Never refuse to accept shipment of a product that you ordered. Delivery companies charge additional fees on top of the cost of return shipping, those fees will be passed on to you. Custom made or special orders may not be cancelled.
PRICING
Whitaker Brothers® reserves the right to change prices at anytime. Pricing can change do to special shipping requirements, promotions, or even errors in the catalog. In order to request better pricing, please call, chat, email or request quote. We are more than happy to assess all offers.
RETURNS & EXCHANGES
If you placed your order directly with a sales representative then speak with them to discuss your options for returning a product. If you placed your order online without a consultation then please scroll down to see our "Online Transaction Terms and Conditions."
Attempting to initate a return? Click here.
SHIPPING POLICIES
Delivery & Carriers:
We use the least expensive and most expeditious form of transportation to ship your products. We use a combination of UPS/FEDEX for items under 100 lbs. and motor freight for items over 100 lbs. Arrangements can be made to use a customer’s UPS/FEDEX account or other common carrier. Special services such as Next Day Service, 2nd Day Service, Saturday Delivery, and delivery via USPS are available at an additional cost. Please note that items delivered via motor freight are delivered to the loading dock only. Delivery does not include a truck with a lift gate or inside delivery service. Deliveries made to residential locations could also incur additional charges. If you require any of these services, please contact your sales representative.
Shipping & Handling Charges:
Shipping charges vary by item and are calculated based upon the weight of the item, dimensions, and shipping method used. All orders are subject to a minimum shipping and handling charge of $6.00. Please contact a Whitaker Brothers® sales representative for specific information regarding shipping charges.
- UPS: $6.00
- FEDEX: $15.00
- USPS: $15.00
International Shipping:
International Shipping Click Below
Whitaker Brothers® can deliver your goods anywhere in the world! Shipments outside the U.S. (the 48 contiguous states) will usually incur additional charges and/or delays. Whitaker Brothers® is not responsible for any delays, customs, duties, brokerage fees, import, surcharges, and/or any other taxes and fees – imposed by other countries. However, we will make every effort to facilitate a smooth transition and delivery. Please check with us before your order is placed should you have any questions concerning these issues. Military delivery to an APO/FPO can only be shipped via the US Postal Service with a 70 lbs. weight limit.
Shipping Notice / Damaged Goods:
DO NOT sign the delivery receipt until you have inspected and accepted the shipment for all physical damage. Packages are shipped in new condition. If packages are signed for without noting physical damage, we can not be responsible for the items you accept. DO NOT limit your ability to collect damage claims. Please note on the driver’s paperwork refusal of shipment or any other exceptions. Your notes on the shipping receipt or bill of lading will make it possible for us to pursue a shipping damage claim if applicable. Please unpack and inspect all equipment on receipt to ensure the correct item has been shipped and that it has not arrived damaged or not working properly. In any of these events, please contact our customer service department immediately. Once we have evaluated the problem, we will make all necessary corrections.
Online Transaction Terms & Conditions
Orders placed at the customer's discretion without any consultation are subject to slightly different rules. Very little of this varies from our standard policy however anyone placing an order online should know all of our procedures. It is not possible to complete our online checkout without full acceptance our online terms and conditions.
Orders may be cancelled at no penalty up until the time that a carrier has assigned a tracking number to the package. Due to varying lag times between when shipment occurs and when the manufacturer forwards us tracking, always wait for a confirmation that the order has been cancelled. Custom orders cannot be cancelled or returned.
Whitaker Brothers ships as swiftly as possible, but sometimes there are manufacturer delays. We update our stock status as often as we receive inventory reports from our manufacturers. Our stock status is only as accurate as the reports we receive and compensation (product discount, free expedited shipping) will not be provided for errors in manufacturer inventory reports or sudden backorders. Our processing time for an order is only about one business hour, however some manufacturers' standard operating procedures add a few days to the ship date even for products that are in stock. If you are in a rush, please call and we'll do everything in our power to push equipment out the door.
Selecting expedited shipping during checkout is not a guarantee that your order can be executed as it was placed. Manufacturer order cutoff times are all over the place, and even vary from day to day. We'll do our best to honor your order exactly as it was placed, but the later in the day the order occurs, the lower the probability that we can fulfill expedited shipping requests.
Never refuse to accept delivery of a product that was ordered. Parcel and freight carriers charge substantial penalties which will be deducted from any anticipated refund. The average fine from UPS on a returned package is double the shipping costs plus a $15 redirect fee. If the customer intends to return a product before it even arrives, it's actually cheaper to accept delivery and send it back out.
Do not accept packages that show signs of damage. Carriers will not ship anything that's been damaged before they receive it, and almost all products are shipped in UPS or FEDEX approved packaging. So any damage that occurs before it reaches your door could only have been caused by the carrier. Signing a delivery receipt is a contractual agreement whereby you accept the package in exactly the condition it has arrived in. Please thoroughly inspect packages because once you've given them your signature the condition is 100% your responsibility. When in doubt make notes of damage on the ticket before signing it. If a product is damaged in shipping, and the customer signs the delivery ticket with no notations, the shipper (Whitaker Brothers or the manufacturer) is powerless to help. In rare occasions a 'hidden damage' claim can be made however the damage to the box must legitimately be hidden or the carriers will reject it.
The resolution for shipping damage is not at our discretion. When something gets damaged in shipping, it's between the shipper, the receiver, and the carrier. Because most of our products ship directly from the manufacturer's warehouse, we are not considered the shipper. While we wish all of our customers could have a brand new machine shipped the next day when shipping damage occurs – that decision does not belong to us.
All returns are subject to a restocking penalty. Sometimes a product doesn't work properly right out of the box. Sometimes it's a faulty machine, sometimes it's user error, however in either case the manufacturer must be given the opportunity to honor their warranty. Whitaker Brothers will facilitate this interaction in any way we can. But if the customer chooses to return the product without allowing the manufacturer to execute their warranty obligations then the customer should anticipate a restocking penalty.
Products are guaranteed against manufacturer defects out of the box. They are not guaranteed to work for the customer's unique application, nor are they guaranteed to live up to a customer's expectations. A $400 envelope opener and a $4,000 envelope opener both perform the exact same function, but that doesn't mean both will give you the exact same level of satisfaction. You get what you pay for. The only time applications and expectations are guaranteed is when you consult with a Whitaker Brothers Sales Representative for advice prior to purchasing. Purchases made without a consultation are at-your-own-risk and all returns generated as a result are subject to a restocking penalty.
The exact amount of our restocking penalty varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, but is usually between 15% and 30%. If you're concerned about what the penalty might be on a product you're considering, please call us!
Why we charge a restocking penalty: In order to offer rock bottom internet pricing, Whitaker Brothers has special arrangements with our manufacturers where we ship directly from their stock to our customers. This keeps inventory costs down and lowers our prices to the you. But when a product is returned, it's no longer factory sealed, it's been used, and it now has to be inventoried and shipped from our own warehouse. The restocking fee covers the original shipping costs as well as time and money put into cleanup and repackaging of returned goods. Restocking fees are not a revenue generator.
All returns must have an RMA number attached to them. The customer is solely responsible for the condition of the product until our warehouse signs for it. Insurance is never a bad idea. If a customer ships something back to Whitaker Brothers without an RMA number the speed and likelihood of a refund can no longer be guaranteed. RMA numbers are acquired by calling our customer service representatives.
Whitaker Brothers respects every consumer's right to file a chargeback. But we strongly recommend you only pursue that action when all other avenues have failed. Whitaker Brothers doesn't always get things right on the first try, but our representatives do a fantastic job of fixing mistakes. Chargebacks against Whitaker Brothers have a historical success rate of less than 10% and a resolution timeframe of 60+ days -- in other words it is not a fast fix by any means. To cover the costs of defending against a chargeback, all restocking penalties on failed chargebacks default to our published maximum (30% plus shipping costs). These terms and conditions are legally binding, while a credit card company's decision on a chargeback is not, therefore successful chargebacks are referred to our debt collections agency in their entirety. It is extremely rare we take things to this level however sometimes it's necessary for customers who believe the terms and conditions they accepted during checkout suddenly do not apply to them.
There are four nationally recognized justifications for credit card chargebacks: Technical (insufficient funds, bank processing error), Clerical (duplicate billing, overbilling), QoS (product never delivered, product delivered was not product ordered), and Fraud (stolen card). All fraudulent and frivolous chargeback claims are reported to the FBI.
All returns and exchanges are at the sole discretion of Whitaker Brothers, and are judged on a case by case basis.
